A need exists in both fiber optic telecommunications and fiber optic illumination systems to split light (i.e. electromagnetic waves) into numerous portions of equal intensity for transmission to different locations. In fiber optic communication systems, such splitting allows a signal to be fanned out to many different receivers. In illumination systems, such splitting allows a single source to illuminate numerous locations spread about the source at various distances and in various directions.
For illumination systems, in particular, the efficiency of the splitter is of importance because light loss associated with the splitter becomes unavailable for the satisfaction of the illumination demands. Further, because many illumination systems must light hundreds, or even thousands, of individual locations (e.g. reading and interior marking lights of an aircraft), the splitters must be inexpensive to manufacture. Likewise, because of the number of splitters required to build these illumination systems, the optical coupling of the light source, and the output fibers, to the splitter must be easy to accomplish and tolerant of mechanical misalignments.
Thus, a need exists for a low-cost, rugged device that efficiently splits a single light source into numerous portions, each portion having approximately an equal intensity.